


Take Me To The Lake(s)

by surielsays



Category: A Court of Thorns and Roses Series - Sarah J. Maas, MAAS Sarah J. - Works
Genre: Book 4: A Court of Silver Flames, F/M, Missing Scene, Spoilers for Book 4: A Court of Silver Flames
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-01
Updated: 2021-03-01
Packaged: 2021-03-14 06:29:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,222
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29787852
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/surielsays/pseuds/surielsays
Summary: Because he looked at her, and she swore he didn't just see her rage -- Cassian could see through it.
Relationships: Nesta Archeron & Cassian, Nesta Archeron/Cassian
Kudos: 47





	Take Me To The Lake(s)

**Author's Note:**

> I've been sitting on my thoughts about A Court of Silver Flames since I finished reading it, and while I loved so much of the book, there are some stories, some scenes, I feel deserve to be told. This is the first of those; what happened in the days after Nesta broke her heart and confessed everything? We deserve more than her off-hand comment to Emerie about sex and training. This is the first time I've published anything I've written for a long time so be gentle. Your thoughts, comments and constructive criticism is all wildly appreciated.

_**‘A red, red rose grew out of the frozen ground.’** _

**And he could only whisper, ‘again.’**

The murmured command caused her fingers to twitch. But only slightly. Nothing that would make her grip on his blade waver, nothing that he could have noticed. Not with the intensity of the gaze that hadn’t left her own. For the first time, in a long time, Nesta smiled without thinking about it. It was small, barely there but she felt her lips quirk up, felt the warmth that radiated from Cassian when he drank in her expression. She closed her eyes, took a steadying breath and did exactly as he had asked.

Her mind was blank. Her foot pivoted. A glint of silver as the blade was lit up by the moonlight. A whisper as it sliced through the air. She understood now what Morrigan had meant when she had likened Cassian in battle to a dance. Dancing was the only time she’d come close to feeling what she felt now. She forgot he was watching her. This wasn’t for him. Or Elain. Or Feyre. Or anyone else. This was for her. About her. The only thing that slipped through were his murmured directions to move again, his artfully crafted combinations.

When he fell silent, she was brought back to earth. To this moment. She had no idea how long the spontaneous training had continued but now that her focus had shifted, she was conscious her the heavy rise and fall of her chest. She was acutely aware of the sweat that undoubtably had her face glowing. A familiar and now pleasant ache caused her arms to tremble, but she wouldn’t drop the blade. That would just be disrespectful. And she saw the way he was looking at her. She knew her own gaze was a mirror image and dropping the blade moved the barrier between them.

_‘Nesta.’_

Her name was a prayer on his lips. He made her name sound as though he was invoking a deity. He said it the way she had dreamt about someone saying her name – and she wasn’t quite ready to face that reality. Not yet. Her breakdown had shattered some walls. The sobs that had wracked her chest had been cathartic in their own way, but she didn’t feel pieced back together yet. And Cassian deserved someone who was whole. More than anything, he deserved someone who could protect him as fiercely, treasure him as deeply and she didn’t think she could do that. Not yet. But maybe. She hadn’t truly entertained the possibility before and even now, it was little more than a whisper on the wind but that was more than she’d had before.

Cassian took a step forward. Her name was on his lips again and the sword fell in the dirt before he invaded her personal space entirely. The hand he rested on her hip burned. She’d been set alight, and she liked it. Instead of clawing for what she wanted, instead of going taut, Nesta felt her whole body loosen. She didn’t need to demand or steal or claw. Cassian gave her everything she wanted so readily, and she was content to just accept it.

His mouth covered hers as she felt his fingers tangle in the hair he pulled free of the knot she’d twisted it into. The noise she made was swallowed up and of their own accord, her arms twisted around his neck. She wanted to be closer. Apparently, Cassian understood her unspoken request and his arm now encircled her waist, holding her close to his chest Her back collided with a large boulder and she grunted. She hadn’t realised they were moving backwards but she was thankful because now caught between the immovable object and her lover, Nesta was sure they couldn’t get any closer. In the silence of the night, with only the faint sound of water lapping on the shore, every noise, every breath, every gasp was louder. Heightened. She barely had time to feel the chill on her breasts when she was exposed to the cool air before his lips moved from hers to mouth along her collarbone. Everything about him was heat. Heat and fire and electricity. And his mouth left her skin sizzling. He was almost cruel in his intensity and never the wallflower, Nesta Archeron met it just as fiercely. His lips closed around the peak of her breast and she cried out. The guttural groan that vibrated on her skin when she pulled his hair prompted her to do it a second time. His head moved with her pull and she froze for a beat, realising he was letting her direct him. Letting her control where his mouth went. Her whole body shuddered, and she was grateful he was supporting her otherwise she thought she might have collapsed to her knees. She was broken out of her stupor when she felt the sharp glide of his teeth against her sensitive skin; a prick of pain that only heightened the pleasure that made her whole-body flush.

_‘Nesta.’_

She would never tire of hearing the way he said her name. It was a promise this time. A promise to make her feel good, a promise to hold her together, to let her fall apart. The kiss of the cold air hit her body and she was suddenly very aware that she was completely undressed while he remained fully clothed. She didn’t care. It was impossible to feel self-conscious when she took in the way his eyes roamed over her body. There was a thud as he dropped to his knees before her and that was the moment Nesta knew she’d never feel more beautiful than she did right then. That was the moment she knew there wouldn’t be another moment quite like this one. Cassian saw her. He saw all of her. Her rage, her hate, her tears. He saw her viciousness. He saw her soul. She’d laid it out in front of her; cracked, shredded, seemingly beyond repair and it hadn’t scared him. Not yet. He saw all the ugly parts of herself, all the parts she wove together to protect herself. He didn’t just see them. He saw through them.

He lifted one foot. Gently. So gently and he turned his head to kiss her ankle. His lips moved up her leg now, over her calf before he gently sucked a bruise against the side of her knee. She squeezed her eyes shut because she wanted this – gods, did she want this – but she wasn’t sure she deserved it. She wasn’t sure she deserved the reverence with which he treated her.

_‘Don’t close your eyes.’_

They shot open at that request.

_‘I can feel when you’re looking at me. I can always feel when you’re looking at me.’_

She knew exactly what he meant because the moment before her eyes found his in every crowded room, she felt fingers brush against the back of her neck. Or something akin to that. And when she looked up, his hazel eyes were always locked on her. His lips were back on her skin, moving further up her inner thigh and his name tasted sweet on her tongue. Like strawberries.

And then his fingers were sliding between her legs and she became acutely aware of her wet she was, acutely aware of how easily his long digits slipped between her folds and acutely aware of how close he came to brushing that sensitive bundle of nerves. And he was so close that he had to have avoided it on purpose. Nesta whined. She whined. And he chuckled. That deep, growling chuckle that set the hairs on the back of her neck on end, that pulled at the corners of her mouth, that made her blush as though they’d never done this before.

_‘You make the most beautiful sounds.’_

It had to be her heightened hearing that allowed her to hear him clearly before he spoke the words against her inner thigh. She watched with raw fascination, driven by arousal, as he pulled his mouth back from her skin to suck his fingers between his lips. He tasted her as though she were ambrosia, a gift he only had in limited supply and had to savour. She wished she was brave enough to tell him it didn’t have to be a limited supply. That they didn’t have to be limited. But she wasn’t so she didn’t. He moved her like a doll, hooking one leg over his shoulder and crouching so he could inch ever closer to the softest part of her.

‘Please Cassian.’

The words left her lips in a surprisingly clear voice. Now breathy and faint but sure and full of need. He obliged. His tongue parted her and the fire she felt before hadn’t really been a fire at all. It was just a spark compared to what she felt now. He knew her, she realised. Cassian knew her and could play her like a familiar instrument. The world didn’t fade away. She didn’t fall into the place of quiet confidence and surety. He broke her open, and she let him. She let herself be vulnerable and Cassian never let her fall. The sound that left her lips when she felt his fingers press inside her was almost animalistic. When his lips closed gently around her clit, her grip in his hair tightened. She pulled his hair, and she wasn’t gentle. She was rewarded with the hungriest, neediest growl and her breath started to come in pants. There was a coil tightening in her lower stomach. When he added a third finger, she fell over the edge and waves of pleasure crashed over her. He didn’t pull away. He didn’t stop kissing or sucking. He didn’t still his fingers and he drew every tremor of pleasure from her.

When she’d stopped shaking, he let her leg down gently, but he remained on his knees in front of her. His breath was coming heavy too and she became very aware of the disparity in their clothing situation. Should she thank him? That didn’t seem right, but he deserved her thanks at the same time. The tug she gave to his hair this time was gentle; guiding and not fuelled from a haze of desire. He moved with her and she found herself staring up at him. They didn’t speak. They didn’t need to exchange words. She simply leaned up and he met her, capturing her lips in a kiss that was soft, exploratory. She tasted herself on his tongue as one hand drifted down his chest, down, down, down to brush her fingers against the bulge in his pants. It was Cassian’s turn to let out a groan. She heard him and she felt his cock twitch against her touch, and it stoked the embers still lingering on her skin. It wasn’t enough.

She swallowed and spoke against his lips. She told him. ‘It’s not enough. I – I need more. Of you. Touching me. Inside me. I need you to –’ She didn’t quite know what she needed him to do. Her brain was only processing the fact she was confessing to needing him as the words left her lips. Her eyes weren’t silver fire when she met his gaze, but they were fire, lust, desire. She wasn’t a fragile little thing and she wanted him to prove that he understood that.

_‘As you wish.’_

Something in the way she looked at him must have communicated the words she couldn’t make herself say because the softness left his expression and there was a smirk there. Playful and cocky and uniquely Cassian. Her breath left her in a whoosh when she was spun around, and her stomach pressed against the boulder. Somehow his touch was gentle and demanding at the same time. The kind of touch that spoke of the confidence in taking what he wanted, but the respect of acknowledging she was in control of everything that happened between them. His boots tapped at each ankle and at the wordless direction, she spread her legs. His boots. Cassian was still fully clothed, and she was completely naked. That made everything that was happening so much more erotic.

She knew even as she felt the length of him press between her legs that he hadn’t bothered undressing before she could still see those black boots. She hadn’t registered how empty she felt until he was rolling his hips forward and suddenly, she absolutely knew she couldn’t be without him. She reached a hand back, finding purchase on his hip and encouraged him to keep going. She could feel how stiff he was behind her; needy and wanting but waiting. For her. Until she was comfortable. ‘Fuck me.’ The words were a command and a plea – an order and a request that Cassian was more than happy to comply with.

He didn’t hold back. The stone was cooling to her heated skin, but it didn’t let her remain cool. Cassian surrounded her. His wings had flared out, blanketing them as he drove into her. The way he slammed into her had her breasts dragging against the smooth rock and the sensation thrilled her. She swore she could feel the bruises before they’d had time to form and the idea of being bruised by him, of there being lingering evidence of this exchange was what had her crying out his name. His lips were on her neck, then mouthing across her shoulders and his hands held her waist so tightly, she was sure his fingers would leave indents in her skin. And she wanted that. She wanted all of that. ‘Harder.’ Her voice had dropped an octave and there was a breathlessness to it. She wouldn’t be broken with him, no matter how rough he was with her and that made her want him to be rougher still. She was rewarded with the sharp sting of his teeth biting down over her thundering pulse.

Every noise that left his lips was a growl, a moan; it was her name whispered and breathed and groaned. He muttered in her ear, but she couldn’t hear what he was saying. Not clearly enough to comprehend it. She was lost to her pleasure. Lost with him and every inch of her wanted to remain lost. His fingers were between her legs again, teasing and circling the sensitive bundle of nerves while he fucked her. She was already sensitive, and he worked her in a way only he seemed to know how, in a way only he had ever done. Pleasure spiked in her body; the spring releasing and she sobbed her release, sobbed his name. The movement of his hips became less fluid, lost some rhythm and minutes later, he joined her. Her name echoed through the night and she swore it had never sounded more like a prayer then when he called for her right as his orgasm overtook him.

His weight leaning over her back was welcome. Needed even. She couldn’t open her eyes, but stars still danced behind her lids. The kisses he left on her skin were soft again, lazy and light and lingering. It was as though he needed that physical connection with her as much as she craved it from him. She didn’t know how long they stayed like that; pressed together, sharing breath. Neither of them spoke. So many words had been exchanged and they didn’t need to share anymore. She just needed this. And she allowed herself to believe that perhaps he needed her too.

She winced when he eventually pulled out, and in the moonlight, he caught the expression. His fingers were gentle when they brushed against her cheek. The lips that followed were equally gentle. She didn’t move. She could feel him dripping down her thighs. She still didn’t think they could. There was ruffling behind her, and when she forced herself to turn around, she realised the sound was Cassian finally stripping out of his clothes. And she laughed. The laughter overtook her; it was loud and clear and real. Her eyes stung with tears and she realised just how much her emotions were still bubbling only just under the surface.

_‘You know, someone of a lesser wingspan might just get offended by your laughter.’_

Her laughter simmered down to a giggle, a genuine smile lighting her face as she moved towards him. Her legs were still shaking, and she tripped – affording him the opportunity to catch her in his arms. Her feet left the ground and she nestled into the warmth of his chest, her new position allowing her to kiss the juncture between his neck and his shoulders. He carried her into the water, and it was the first thing that had made her feel cool. How he could switch from fucking her so roughly to cleaning her so gently was a shift she couldn’t comprehend but she revelled in it. Adored every brush of his fingers and indulged in kissing him lazily as he did so.

He took her in the water too with her back pressed against his chest and with only his fingers finding every sensitive inch of skin. That time was soft and relaxed. She didn’t feel the same pulse-pounding need and lust, but she wanted him all the same. He coaxed her to the edge several times, teasing her before kissing her deeply when her orgasm washed over her. She returned the favour with shaking hands brushing over his wings – what started off as her cleaning him up ended with him shaking and panting and directing her on exactly where to touch him. There was no-one else in the world but them and they took pleasure in that.

When they finally made their way back to shore, she’d been the one to lace their fingers together. She didn’t sleep by herself that night. She slept wrapped in his arms; his wings cocooning them while he pressed affectionate, sweet kisses against her hair, her forehead, her eyelids, her nose. She tried to protest but one look at his expression silenced anything she might have said to stop him. He was being affectionate because he wanted to be affectionate, and she didn’t need to shy away from that.

Cassian fell asleep first. He was beautiful when he slept. There was no sign of the rough and powerful general who took on a legion of men alone. The man who’d suffered through his wings being shredded and repaired. The man who commanded respect because he’d worked hard, overcome every obstacle and earned it. This wasn’t the Cassian Morrigan knew, or the Cassian her sister had befriended. This wasn’t the Cassian who teased the High Lord or who trained with Azriel. This Cassian was one all of her own. One who she now allowed herself to believe really cared about her, one who saw her and all her flaws and still wanted to rescue her, still believed she deserved saving. This was the Cassian who had kept reaching out his hand even when she’d scorned him at every turn. She wasn’t ready yet but as her eyes drifted closed, Nesta allowed herself to believe that perhaps one day, she would be ready to fall completely for this Cassian.


End file.
